Teams

Recent comments

Agreed Catalina! I was about to share my story on the struggles of single household living, but then I saw yours. As you said, grocery store portions (and even recipes) are not made for one. Monotony is the enemy. When I cook a proper meal, most of it goes to waste because I can't bear to eat the same dish three days in a row. To reduce waste I have mostly resorted to "snack" meals (yogurts, small portions of fruits, veggies, grains.)

I can think of a few personal solutions -- go to the grocery more often, halve or quarter my recipes, ensure my groceries for the week can be used in multiple different recipes -- but all of these efforts cost me time. And time something all of us feel starved for today.

Emily Getty I'm not sure how to quantify its success outside of its subscription rate, but Imperfect Produce's user base has been growing. With that, I think it has helped to bring awareness to, and change, the (incorrect) perception that aesthetically "imperfect" produce is not good. Big Box retailers have realized consumers' receptivity to imperfect produce for cost savings and have begun to pilot programs. (Example retailers include Whole Foods and Walmart.)

The model is replicable as there are similar programs in different cities/countries (e.g. Fruta Feita). Scale seems limited to accessible produce; I would imagine there is a limit on the amount of commercially unfit produce given that it's more prudent for farmers to cater to large retailers as they are able to sell their produce at a higher margin.

That's cool that you've known about Imperfect Produce from its inception! Have you noticed any patterns in its growth over the years that would help us to better understand which factors may be correlated with success or failure? That may help us better understand or hypothesize the places where this model can thrive.